This invention relates to fluid applicators, and, more particularly, to applicator brushes for acrylic craft paints.
Many people enjoy arts and crafts, particularly crafts involving painting using acrylic paints. Since acrylic paints are commonly used in a variety of crafts, the acrylic paint industry has adopted a regularly used standard size acrylic paint bottle. Often, acrylic paints can be purchased in two-ounce bottles. These bottles are generally deformable; that is, their shape can be easily and non-permanently altered. For example, they can be "squeezed" thereby allowing for advancement and dispersion of the paint contained in the bottle onto the surface of the object to be painted.
In that most acrylic paint bottles usually contain a volume of two ounces, the bottles have a generally consistent size and shape. They frequently are small enough to be manipulated in one hand by the user. Commonly, the opening to the paint bottles from which the paint is dispersed or the bottle filled is of consistent sizes so that the caps sold with the paint bottles are generally interchangeable.
In order to paint using the two-ounce size bottles of acrylic paints, many of the bottles include a threaded cap having a flip-top lid and a small opening formed in the cap under the lid. In order to use the paint contained in such bottles, the user must first squeeze the paint through the opening onto a separate conventional paintbrush or into a separate container or pallet. In some bottle configurations, the cap must be removed from the bottle and set aside while a separate brush must be inserted into the mouth and cavity of the bottle holding the paint. This could lead to contaminants being introduced into the paint (for example, if the same brush is dipped into two or more colors of acrylics therefore fading the true hue of the paints). During any of these actions, the paint bottle may tip over and spill. Furthermore, the use of pallets, containers and other brushes leaves many items that must be cleaned or discarded after use. Therefore, crafters have long been in search of a new and useful paintbrush and method of applying acrylic paint that would solve these and other problems associated with the prior art.
Additionally, the use of a new, non-obvious, and useful paintbrush has long been sought after by cosmetic users and those that varnish or apply base coats.
These and other problems associated with the prior art are solved by the present invention.